Assembling machine



July 17, 1928. 1,677,739

l H. E. 'rowNsEND ASSEIIBLING IIACHINE Filed uns, 1925 4 sheets-'sheet 1IN V EN TOR.

H. E. TOWNSEN s h2 A A TTORNE YS.

i July 17, 1928.,

1,677,739 H. E. TOWNSEND Assmann@ incarna INVENToR. HE. Tow/SEND ATTORNEYS.

July 17, 1928. 1,677,739

H. E. TowNsEND Assauunc ummm; Flea nec. e. 1925 4 sheets-sheet 3INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

H. E. 'row/15mm.

,4 EN h lol July 17, 1928.

, 1,677,739 H. E. 'rowNsEND ASSEIBLING MACHINE Filed Dec. 9. 1925 4sheets-sheet 4 IN V EN TOR.

H. E. TOW/VSE ND ATToRNYs.

Patented July 17, 1928.

'HARnY E. 'rOwNsnNn or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

*.AssEMBLING iiinonmii.`

Application ined neceinber 9, i925'. serial no. 74.295..

My invention relates to machines*` for handling articles, and hasspecial reference to machines ot this character that are particularlyadapted for use in assembling articles, such as hard candies. iny stacksor rolls.

@ne object of the invention is to provide a machine of this characterwhich isV simple in construction and rapid and eiiicient in op,-eration, rand lwhich is particularly adapted for use in handling hardcandies that are coatedwith sugar' and thus are liable to become more.or less moist and sticky in warm weather, and are more Or lesskununitorni in shape and size. Y

Another object ot the invention is torprovide a machine of the characterindicated in` which there is provision ot means for elin'iiiiatingbroken pieces, soas to ensure that no such pieces shall reach theassembled articles.

The several features ot' the inventionl whereby the above mentioned andother` Objects may be attained, will be clearly undei'- i.

stood from the following description and accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View of a machine embodying thefeatures of the invention in their preferred form; Fig. 2 is a viewcorresponding to a portion of Fig. 1 onV an enlarged scale and portionsof the sides of saidrods 4 beingr .showing certain parts of the machinein a different position;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, onl an enlarged scale, ot the rear portionof the machine; Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 4-4of Fig. 5; y

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the linee-5 vot Fig. 3;Fig. 6y is a transverse sect'onal view taken on the line 6-6 ol' Fig. 3;Y

Fig. 7 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 7 7of Fig. 1;

Figi is a detail sectional view taken on the line 8 8 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 9 is a plan view partly broken away looking tace down oii theinclined raceways ot the machine. n n

The machine illustrated in the drawings is particularly adapted forusein assembling articles` such as hard candies that are in the ttorm otcircular disks, in stacks or rolls. i/is shown. the machine in generalcomprises a hopper 2 for` receiving the articlesgagitatlevifes 4 whichselectively arrange the ingv r artic in rows with tle articles in each.row 'angeli edge to edV in upright posi?- tion; an endlesspconveyor 6which receives the articles as thus arranged romthe agitat-` ingrdevices and hopper; raceways 8 to which n the several rows of articlesare delivered vby said conveyor, and which are .inclined downwardl)7 anddiverge toward their lower ends; and devices for causing the endmostarticles inmthe severalfraceways to be suc-- cessively delivered into4position to permit them to be easily removed either by hand or machine,the varticles thus delivered being arranged side by side.

.The hopper 2 is provided with longitudinal 'side walls 12 and 'frontand reary end walls 14. The bottom lof the vhopper coniprises aplurality of bars 16 having their ends secured to the front yand rearwalls 14 and being arranged side by sideand spaced apart a distanceslightly greater than the thieknessof the articles. l The agitatingdevices 4 comprise bars or rods oit wood which are arranged to slideupon the bottom bars 16 and have their ends projecting through guidingapertures in the front and .rear walls 14 of the hopper., The agitatingldevices or rods 4 are rectangular in cross-section except 'that theupper. portions of their sides extending between the front and rearwalls 14 are beveled or inclined upwardly and outwardly as indicated at18'.y the lower' substantiallyllush withthe sides of the bottom bars 16.These agitating devices or rods 4 are reciprocated in Oppositedirections alternately wliich causes the articles to work down over theinclined sides of the v4devicesand into the spaces between the bot# vtombars16.- the articles entering each space e c eived in the spacesbetween Athe bars they rest upon the conveyor. rThe front end o f theconveyor is spaceda distance back of the inner lower edge of the frontwall of the hopper,` and the conveyor is operated to carry I therarticlesforwardly `thereon and discharge them through said space, theupper ends of the raceways 8 being arranged s o as to re* ceive thearticles as theypassthrough said discharge space or opening. Theendlessconveyor 6 is driven back., and forth alternately. the advancingmovementstliereof beii'rig' substantially twice as long as its bac-,k1

oo l

shaft.

ward movements. Such actuation of the conveyor causes the articles to befed toward the raceways and at the same time prevents them frommaterially piling up and clogging the discharge space oroi'ienincadjacent the inlet ends of the raceways. To still furtherprevent the articles from piling; up and clogging said discharge spaceor opening, a device is provided which comprises a transverse plate 2Oarranged adjacent the upper portion of the inner side of the front wallof the hopper and having); its upper end secured to arms 22 depending.`from a rock shaft 24 which 'is journalled in suitable bearings inbrackets 26 mounted on the upper edges of the longitudinal sides of thehopper. The plate 2O has depending teeth 28 secured to its lower end andextendingT downwardly through the spaces between the agitatinp; devices4L and between the bottom or spacingF bars 16. Upon actuation of therock shaft 2/l the plate 2O and the teeth 28 are carried back and forthtoward and from the front wall la, and thus tend to work the articlesback from the front `wall and away from said discharge openi1ii,'thelower end of the teeth 28 being` spaced a sutiicient distance from thefront end of the conveyor' 6 to pen mit the articles to pass one atatime beneath cach of them.

The agitatinp,` devices t are reciprocated in oppositedirectionsalternately, as above described, by means of rocker arms 30and 32 which are alternately arranged. The lower ends of the arms 30 and32 are mounted upon a rock shaft 34; and their upper ends are forked soas to embrace rearwardly extending;- rods or pins 36 secured to the.rear ends of the agitating` devices i and each is positioned betweenabutment washers and nuts 3S screw-threaded upon the pins. Theoscillating` arms 32 are secured to the rock shaft M- so to be actuatedthereby, while lthe arms 30 are pi'vetally mounted upon the rock shaft34 and means is provided forl oscillating the latter arms uponthe rocklhejrock shaft 231i has its ends eX- tended through bearings inrearwardly projecting` brackets l2 and is actuated by a shaft 40 havingits ends extending through and journaled in bearings in said brackets42. rllhe ends of the shaft 40 project beyond the outer sides of thebrackets 42 and are reduced in diameter and arranged eccentrically ofthe axis of the shaft. The connection between the shaft i-0 and the rockshaft 3a comprises links ist having one end pivotally mounted upon theeccentric ends of the shafty l0 and havingI their other ends` pivotallyconnected by studs 'or pins i6 with the free ends of arms i8 that aresecured to the projecting ends of the rock shaft 34.

The rocker arms 30 form one arm of bell crank levers, the otlier arms5t) of which engage a rod 52, the two endmost arms 5() beingsl providedwith apertures through which the rod loosely extends so as to supportthe rod` and the remaining arms 50 having bifurcated ends that straddlethe rod. The ends lof the rod 52 extend through clearance openings inthe brackets 42, and links 54e connect the ends of said rod with theeccentric ends of the actuatingr shaft 40. lith this construc tion. itwill. be apparentthat upon rotation of the shaft 40, the rocker arms 30and 32 will be reeiprocated in opposite directions as desired. o

The shaft ll-O is driven from the driving shaft 58 of the machinethrough sears 6() and 61 (Fig. 4) secured to the shaft 4() and to ashaft 62 havingV its ends journaled in bearings in the brackets 42. Theshaft 62 carries a spiral `gear 64 that engages' a spiral gear 66mounted opon the rear endof a downvmrdly and forwardly inclined shaft GSwhich has its rear end'journaled in a bearing; on a bracket G9 securedto the right hand bracket 4t2 and having its forward end joui naled in anearing; on the machine frame. The lower end of the inclined shaftcarries a spiral gear 72 that is engaged by a spiral gear 74 carried bya transverse shaft 76 that has its ends journaled in suitable bearingsin the. frame of the machine, and is driven by a sprocket chain 78 thatpasses over sprocket wheels 80 secured on said shaft and a shaft 82.This shaft 82 is driven through a large gear 84 secured thereon andengaged by a pinion 86 carried by the d riving shaft 58, the lattershaft being continuously driven by a pulley 8'?.

The endless conveyor 6 passes over pulleys or drums 88 that are carriedby shafts 89 and 90,v respectively, `iournaled in bearings in themachine frame. conveyor passes over a supporting table 91 so as tomaintain it substantially fiat. rlf'he conveyor may be dividedlongitudinally into a number of sections, which are maintained underproper tension by upwardly springl pressed tension rolls 92 that engagethe lower runs thereof. One end of the drum shaft 89 carries ratchetwheels 93 and 9st having their teeth oppositely arranged and engaged byactuating` pawls 95 and 96. These pawls 95 and 96 are pivotally mountedon an oscillatingl lever 97 which is pivotally mounted upon the outerend of the drum shaft 89. The pawls are pressed toward the ratchetwheels by a spring,l 98 coiled about a stud, $9 on the lever 9i", andhas its ends engaging the top sides of the pawls. The pawl '96 isadapted toride upon a pin 100 projecting' from the side of the .hopperduringl a portion of the movement of the lever 9T in both directions.Wlith vthis construction, during the movement of the lever 97 in acounter' clockwise direction, viewing Fig. 3, the pawl 95 and ratchetwheel 93 aet through the shaft 89 to rotate the conveyor G ina The upperrun of the 'nii lll)

direction to carry the articles Vtoward the racewa-ys8; and during thevmovement of the lever 97 lin the opposite direction, the pawl 96 andratchet wheelv 94 actto reverse the movement of the conveyor. During l`the latter movement ofthe lever 97 Athepawl 96 rides upon the pin 100and thereby is not permitted to operatively `engage its ratchet wheeluntil near the last half of said move- 4ment of the lever 97. Thus itwill be apparent, that upon actuation of theoscillating lever 97, theendless conveyor 6 will be driven in opposite directions, the advancingmovements thereof being substantially twice as long as itsretractingmovements, as above described. The lever 97 is'actuatedby linkor rod 101 hav-ing one end pivotally connected with the lever and itsother end pivotally connected with a crank arm 102 secured on one end ofthe shaft 62. l i

The rock shaft 24 that carries the oscillating device or comb28 isactuated by a link or rod 103 having one end pivotally connected with anarm 104 secured to said; shaft, and having its other end pivotallymounted on the reduced end of the shaft 62, which end is arrangedeccentrically lto the axis of th`eshaft. u, u w Q' The major upperportions of the raceways 8'are arranged side by side'vand spaced apart,and each comprises. a bottomfstrip 106, and a top strip 107 lwhich isprovidedA withA a longitudinally extending-groove for receiving andguiding'l theupper portions of lthe articles as they ride down 'upon thebottom plate. The top plates 107 are all secured to the under side oftransverse `bars 108having their ends fsecuredon the upper ends ofstandards 109 secured tofthemachine frame. The bottom .strips 106areallmounted upon transverse bars 110 secured to thel standards.

Screw bolts 111'ex'tendlooselyfthrough aper.- tures in the 'cross barsv110 and are. screw-y threaded into the undersidesof the bottom strips106 so as to v:hold the strips'from longiQ tudinal movement 'butpermitting limited vibratory movement thereof. The top surface vof theupper portion 11,2 ofeach y of the bottom strips 106 lis substantiallyflat, while the remaining` portionthereof is provided with alongitudinal g'roove1113, VlVith this construction, in case a broken'article enters one of the raceways, the vibration ofthe plate by meanshereinafter described, causes itto be discharged over the edge of the`iattened portion 112, of the strip, thus `it is prevented from ridingdwn the length of the raceway.. l Y A y The several .bottomy strips 106of the raceways are vibrated by means of devices comprisingadjustable"screws114",` which'y are mounted upon a platey115 thatissecured on the upwardly turned end of a lever 116 which is pivotall'y'mountedv upon the sprocket wheel shaft 82..' The lever 116 car- 'theends of the screws 114 to strike against the undersides of the bottomstrips of the raceways and thus vibrate the strips.

The remaining `portions of the raceways 8, comprise bottom members 120each 'of which is provided with a relatively deep longitudinallyextending groove 121` for guiding the articles, andal'lof the membersare securedy upon a sheet metal plate 122 whichfhas its upper endmounted upon a transverse bar 124 that is vsupported and eX tendsbetween` standards 126 secured to the machine frame. The lower portionof the platey 122 is mounted upon ay transverse n bracket Vmember 1128secured to the frame.

Bolts 130'eXtend through apertures in the transverse supporting bar 124andbracket member 128 and are screw-threaded into the sheet metalfplate122 so as to Ahold the platey from longitudinal movement but permittingit to be vibrated y'sofas to vibrate the'raceway members'120.ykTopstrips 132 extend over the members 120, and have their upper endsrsecured by bolts 134 to va transverse bar 136 extendingr .between thestandards 126, and

havetheir lower'portions secured bolts 138 to a transvei'se'har 140extending hetween standards 142 which is securedI to. the bracket member128. Thelower ends of the strips 132 are spaced aV distance backoftheforward ends vof thebottomraceway members 120.y The sheet metal plate122 and the bottom members 1,20 lof the racewaysarev adapted to bevibrated by means of a hammer 144r which is formed upon lthe upwardlyturned end of a lever 1146 which is pivotally c mouted upontherearsprocket wheel shaft f 76 and is provided with a'cam roll 148which is held in engagement with a rcam 150r on the lower sprocket wheelshaft 82 by means `of a 'coiled spring 152having one end con? nectedwith the lever and its other end secured tothevmachine frame. n

An escapement bar- 153y extends transversely over the lower end portionsof the raceways in front "of the lower ends of the top strips 132 and isprovided with depending ears onits ends that are secured on pivotshafts. 154 and 155 which extend through bearings 156 mounted upon thebracket member 128, the pivot shafts being invalinem'ent andv havingtheir axis iny sub-` stantial'ly the same plane with the axes of thearticles as they move down `thev raceways. The under side of 'the bar153 is curved concentricall'y with the axis. of the bar, and its'radiusof curvature is slightly greater than that of the articles. Whenthe 4ment of the roll.

vstop member 158 is released.

escapement bar 153 is in the position shown in Fig. 1, it serves as astop to limit the downward movement of the candies in the severalraceways and causes the candies to` benniformly arranged in each racewayone behind the other and in contact with each other, and with thecandies in the several raceways arranged side by side, and with theendmost candies in close proximity. When the escapeinent bar is turnedin a counter-clockwise direction to the position shown inllig. 9., itpermits the articles to advance down the raceways until the endmostarticles engage the under curved surfac'eof the bar, which limits saidadvancing .moie- Then the escapement bar 153 vis then swung back to itsinitialposition, it releases said end most row of articles andengagesthe next succeeding row so as to hold it from advancing movement, butpermits the row that is` released to drop down into engagement with asecond stop member 158. A supporting` plate 159 .is interposed betweenthe ends of the raceways and thestop member 158. kThe stop member 158comprises a plate or bar having upwardly extending ears 160 on its `endswhich lembrace and are secured to a shaft 162 hav- AThe members 153 and158 are connected `to move in unison so that when the i'nember 153releases the endmost row of articles to permit it to separate from theothers, the stop members 158 isbrought into position to limity saidmovement of that row, and when the member 153 is swung in the oppositedirection to permit limitedv advancing movement of the articles in theseveral raceways, as above described, the stop member 158 is swungforwardly outro-f the way so as to permit the row of articles that maybe held thereby to Adrop down into 'a discharge chute 166. It isintended, however, that the separated row of articles shall be removedbefore the stop member 158 is swung out of the way. In case, however,the operator should.A find that there is not the requisite number ofarticles in the row or for other reasons, hemay permit the row to remainin position and thus be discharged through the discharge chute 166 whenthe Because of the thickness of the walls between the raceways, thearticles delivered. tl'ierefrom to the station adjacent the stop 158 arespaced apart, but it will be apparent that in removing the row thearticles may be easily brought together to form a stack or roll.

It will be apparent that the members 153 and 158 may be operated eitherby hand or automatically. In the construction illustrated in thedrawings they are shown as operable by means of a hand operated lever168 that is secured upon a shaft 170 is pressed upwardly by means of acoiled spring 180 having one end secured to an arm that is secured tothe shaft 170 and having its other end secured tothe machine frame Theescapement member 153 is connected with the lever 168through an arm 182(Fig. 9) secured to the projecting` end of the pivot shaft 1.511 andconnected 4by a link 184 with the free end of the lever. The 'stopmember 158 is connected with the lever 168 by 'an arm 186 secured to theprojecting end of the shaft 169J and` connected by a link 188 with thefreeend of the lever 168. The lever 168 is provided with van operatinghandle 190.

In the position of the parts shown in Fig. 1, the lever 168y is presseddownwardly by the operator so as to move the stop member 158 into itsstopping position to be engaged by the row of articles discharged fromthe raceways,A and the member 153 into `engagement with the lowermostarticles in the several raceways. Vhen the handle 190 yis released bytheoperator, the lever 168 is swung upwardly, by its spring to position themembers 153 and 158 in the position shown in Fig. 2, as above described.

The forward edge of the escapement 153 is spaced a sufl'icient distanceabove the bottom plate 120 so that Vin case a broken or small piece ofcandy reaches the lower end of its raceway it may pass beneath theescapement and be dischargedinto` the chute 166, whereupon the nextcandy in the raceway may move downwardly gravity vto take its placeagainst theescapement. 1

As will be evident to those skilled in the art, my invention permitsvarious modifications without departing from the spirit thereof or. thescope of the appended claims.

lhat I claim is: 1. A machine for handling articles of the kinddescribed having, in combination,` a

hopper having a discharge opening adjacent to its lower end, an endlessconveyor adjacent to the bottom of the hopperlfor conveying the articlestoward said dischargeopening, mea-ns for arranging' the articles on saidconveyor in rows `extending longitudinally thereof, with the articles in'each rowy arranged edge to edge in upright position, and means forimparting advancing and retraeting movements to said conveyor to tend tomove the articles toward and from said discharge opening, said,advancing movements being of greater extent than the retractingmovements. l

2. A machine for handling articles of the kind described having, incombination,l a hopper, an endless conveyor adjacent to the bottom ofthe hopperhaving one end thereof spaced a distance away yfrom thelowerend of a wall ofsaid hopper to provide an opening through whichvthearticles may be discharged, mea-ns for arranging the articlesfon saidconveyor Vinrows eat/ending le 'l nally thereof with the articles ineach row arranged edge to edge in u pright position, and means forimparting advancingand retracting movements to saidv conveyor to tend tomove the articles toward and from said discharge opening, said advancingmovements being ot greater extent than the retracting movements. y

' 3. A machine for handling articles of the kind described having, incombinatiomra hoppper, a plurality'o'f bars arranged longitudinallyadjacent to the bottom of ,the hopper and spaced apart a distanceslightly greater that the thickness oty the articlesr so as to permitthe articles to be positioned between them in upright position, meansfory thus positioning the articlesbetween the bars, means forreciprocating alternatebars in opposite directions, and a conveyorexftending beneathY said bars for-conveying Athe articles vlongitudinallyofthe bars and dis-y charging them adjacent to one end thereof. 4. Amachine vfor handling articles. of the kind described having, incombination, a

hopper` a plurality of bars arranged longi.

tudinally adjacent to the bottom ofthe hopper and spaced apart adistance slightly greater than the thicknesszot the. articles so as topermit the articles to be placed in up#y iiglit position between thebars, agitating members mounted tov slide longitudinally over the topsof the bars, said members being spaced apart so as to permit thearticles to drop downwardly between the bars, means for reciprocatingsaid agitator-s longitudi- V nally. and a conveyor for conveying thearticles thus positioned between the bars rlongitudinally thereof anddischarging tl'iem adjacent to one end thereof. y

5. A machine for handling Aarticles of the kind described having, inycombination, a`

hopper, a pluralitj7 of agitating members arranged longitudinally ofthevhopper and adapted to be reciprocated longitudinally, the lowerportions of said members being spaced apart a distance slightly greaterthan the thickness of said'articles", and the upper iportionsthereotbeing inclined outwardly so as to direct the articles in uprightposition downwardly between said lmembers,

means for reciprocating said members, and

means for conveying the articles inthe position arranged bysaid membersfrom said hopper.

6. A machine for handling articles of the,

kind described having, in. `combination, a

lhopper, a plurality of agitating lmembers arranged longitudinallyadjacent'the bottom ot the hopper and spaced apartl a 'distance'slightly greater than the thicknessrof theV after they pass betweensaid. agitating members.

the articles.

i. 7 A machine forvhandling articles of the l kind described having, incombination, a y hopper having a discharge opening adjacent to its lowerend, a plurality yof bars arranged' longitudinally adjacent to thebottom ot the hopper and spaced'apart a distance slightly `greaterthan,the thickness ot the articles, means lor directingI the articlesdownwardly between the bars comprising agitating members mounted toslide longitudinally over the top longitudinal sides ot saidv bars,means for reciprocatingsaid agitating .members longitudinally, yanagitator arranged adjacent vthe discharge end ot said. bars .andyagitating members and having ,teethy extending downwardly between saidagitating members and between said. bars, and means for oscillating saidagitator to 'cause the teeth lthereof to work back and forth in saidspaces. 'l y Y 8. Avmachine for handling articles ofthe kind describedhaving, in combination, means for assembling the articles in Vrows withthe articles in each row'arranged edge to edge in upright position,rracewaystor receiving the several/rows, respectively, and

having their nforward portions spaced apart,

stripl upon which fthe articles rest,vv andy a grooved strip for guidingthe'upper portions,

:for handling articles of the 9.` A mach'n'e having, in combination,

kind l described means forassembling the articlesin' rows Y' with thearticles in each "row arranged edge to edge in uprightv position,'raceways for receiving the several rows, respectively, each of saidraceways being inclined downwardly from saidassembling means rand the'upper 'portions thereof being substantiallyV parallel, andthe remainingportions diverging so as to position their rear 'or lower yends in closeproximity, each ra'ceway comprising a bottom strip upon whichthearticles rest, anda grooved vstrip for guidingthe upper portions ot'thearticles, the In'p'perend portionsv ot said bottom strips'being spacedapart and substantially fiat. l

10. yA machine for'liandling'articles of the kind 'described having, incombination, Ymeans 'for assembling the articles in rows with thearticles in leach row arranged edge to edge in,upright-position,raceways for receivingthe several rows, respectively, 4inclineddownwardly ,"from said 'assembling means, and each comprising a stripupon which the articles rest,vand a groove'd strip for guiding theLipper portions of the articles, Vsaid bottom strip beinglooselyniounted, and vmeans for vibrating said bottom strip. "11. Amachine for handling articles of the kind describedr having, invcombination, a plurality of raceways arranged' 'side 'by side lio andinclined downwardly and rearwardly,

' the lower end portion of said raceways comprising a plate and aplurality of strips arranged side by side and spaced apart mounted uponthe plate `for receiving the articles'between them, said plate beingloose ly mounted, and means for vibrating said plate.

12. A machine for handling articles of the kind described having, incombination, means for assembling the articles in rows arranged side byside with the articles 1n each row arranged side by side, a devicepivotally mounted with its axis substantially in the plane of the axesof the articles of said rows engaging the endmost row to hold theseveral rowsfrom advancing movement and adapted to be released from saidendmost row to permit the several rows to advance and to re-engage theendmost row to limit said advancing movement thereof, and adapted to bethereafter' released from said endmost row and by engagement with thenext succeeding row` to hold the remaining rows from advancing movement,and means for thus operating said device.

13. A machine for handling articles of the kind described having, incombination, means for assembling the articles in rows arranged side byside with the articles in each row arranged side by side, a device en-'gaging the endmost row to hold the several rows from advancing movementand adapted to be released from said endmost row to permit the severalrows to advance and to re-engage the endmost row to limit said advancingmovement thereof, and adapted to be thereafter released from saidendmost row and by engagement with the next succeeding row to hold theremaining rows fromadvancing movement, means for thus operating saiddevice, a stop for limiting the last-mentioned advancing movement ofsaid endmost row, and means for releasing said stop.

111. A machine for handling articles ofthe kind described having, incombination, means for assembling the articles in rows arranged side byside with the articles in each row arranged side by side, a memberpivotally mounted with its axis substantially in the plane of the axesof said rows, and

having a pocket adapted when the memberis in one position to receive theendmost row to hold the rows from advancing movement, when moved toanother position to release said endmost row and to engage the nextsucceeding row to hold the remaining rows from advancing movement, andmeans for operating said member.

15. A machine for handling'articles of the lkind described having, incombination, means for assembling'` the articles in rows arranged sideby side with the articles in to hold the remaining rows from advancingmovement, a stop for limiting the `advancing movement of saidfirst-mentioned endmost row when released from said device, and meansfor simultaneously releasingv said stop from said last-mentioned row andfor releasing said device from said next succeeding row and for causingsaid reengagement of said device with said last-mentioned` row.

16. A machine for handling articles of the kind described having, incombination, means for assembling the articles in 'rows arranged side byside with the articles in each row 'arranged side byk side, a deviceadapted to engage the endmost row to hold the several rows fromadvancing movement, means adapted to be operated by the operator forreleasing said device from said endmost row to permit said row toadvance independently of the other rows, and to cause said device toengage the next succeeding row to hold the ren'iaining rows fromadvancing movement, and upon release of said means by the operatoracting automaticallyV to release said device from said next succeedingrow to peri'nit'the several rows to advance, and to cause said device tore-engage said next succeeding rowl to limit the ad# vancing movement ofsaid rows, a stop for limiting said advancing movement of the endmostrow independently of the other rows, and means under the control of theoperator for releasing said stop.

17.- A machine for handling articles of the kind described having, incombination, means for assembling the articles in rows with the articlesin each row arranged edge to edge in upright position, raceways forreceiving the several rows, respectively, each comprising abottom stripupon which the articles yrest in upright position, the several racewaysand their bottom strips having their upper portions spaced a distanceapart to permit broken pieces of the articles to 'drop down betweenthem, and their lower HARRY n; Tiowivsinvn.`

lll)

